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It is always a fruitful exercise to discuss the transference phenomenon. Dr. Swartz's cases are very interesting, but I found a little difficulty correlating the title and the discussion with the clinical material. Perhaps this is only a fault of exposition rather than in the message which he wants to convey.
Factually, the case reports do not illustrate what I think is meant by “erotized transference.” They illustrate the garden variety transference neurosis as well as some phases of nontransference or transference resistance. However, his subject is a fascinating one and merits considerable discussion.
Erotized transference and evident nontransference seem to be at opposite poles of the therapeutic spectrum. In the one instance, so much libido is invested in the therapeutic relationship that the working through of the infantile neurosis appears to be hindered. In the other instance, there is not enough emotional commitment to furnish a leverage for the buried conflicts. Both of these polarities are explainable and responsive to analysis and resolution.
Let us first consider the erotized transference. Dr. Swartz is correct when he alludes to the fact that individuals who exhibit this phenomenon are persons with weak ego structures. If we were to follow the definition I proposed in previous publications—that the ego consists of the stored memories of mastered experience—then a weak ego structure is one in which there is a paucity of mastered experiences from the past.
When such individuals go into analysis they sometimes use the therapeutic dyad as a vehicle for replenishing that which had been missing from their lives. This is particularly true when there had been a taste of gratification that was subsequently lost. In addition, there are those cases which have developed the ego trait of insatiability as a form of reparative or secondary ego autonomy.
Some patients show an exaggerated interest in overt genital sexuality. Often these cases are individuals who have either